Penn Station stabbing victim slams Mamdani, DA Bragg for suspect being free on streets
A Penn Station stabbing victim is calling out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg while recounting the "crazy" scene on "Fox & Friends."
"I've got to blame the administration, starting with Mamdani and Bragg," victim Henry Obadiah said on Tuesday.
The suspect, later identified as 51-year-old Hector Deleon, reportedly has a criminal history on "both sides of the river" in New York and New Jersey, according to local news reports.
Bragg, however, told New York's FOX 5 that Deleon had no active cases in New York state and no criminal history in Manhattan for nearly 20 years.
FIVE STABBED NEAR PENN STATION, LEAVING ONE SERIOUSLY INJURED AS INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
"I just saw an interview with Bragg, and he said that this guy doesn't have an arrest record in New York, so that's why he's out on the street," Obadiah said. "But who cares? If he stabbed someone in New Jersey, why isn't this guy under arrest?"
The New York Post reported on Deleon's "seven arrests going back to at least 2008," including those for "aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, use or possession of drugs, assault, domestic assault and criminal mischief."
Deleon was out of jail despite an "eerily similar" stabbing that occurred in Newark, N.J., in 2022, according to the outlet.
He was also taken into custody last May for narcotics, theft and assault, NBC 4 New York reported.
Multiple people were stabbed and one suffered serious injuries in Sunday's incident in Midtown Manhattan, officials said.
Obadiah recounted walking toward the Seventh Avenue exit when he witnessed a scuffle between two men and locked eyes with the suspect.
"I didn't think anything of it, walking toward the escalator, and I locked eyes with this crazy madman. And he just looked at me, and... he had this rage in his eyes, and he... cracked me right in the mouth," he said, recalling the moment the suspect's blade slashed his face.
"My first reaction was, 'I'm going to go after this guy. I want to kill him,' but then this guy behind me goes, 'He's got a knife,' so then I just backed off, [and] went up the escalator."
When he reached the top, a bystander informed him that he had been cut.
"I'm like, 'Oh my God.' Then we were waiting. It was a lot of chaos. People were trying to flag down the police," he said.
He informed an officer that he had been stabbed and could identify the attacker, so he followed the officer downstairs to the N.J. Transit area.
"It was a crazy scene," he said.
"It was blood all over the place. There was clothes strewn all over, and we followed this trail of blood, and we saw this kid was bleeding from the head, and he had a towel on his head. They were tending to him, and then they came over to me, some of the cops were asking me questions."
"Then a couple of minutes later, another guy got stabbed. Cops were running in all directions. It was crazy."
Obadiah's wound required stitches near his mouth.
The New York Police Department referred inquiries about the incident to Amtrak Police, which is leading the investigation.
Mamdani said he had been briefed on the "horrific stabbing."
"My heart is with everyone who was injured, their loved ones, and all those shaken by this unacceptable violence. I’m wishing each of the victims a full and speedy recovery," he wrote on X.
"I’m grateful to the Amtrak Police Department and the first responders who acted quickly to apprehend the suspect and provide emergency care," the mayor continued.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the New York City Mayor's Office for comment, but did not immediately receive a reply.